Submitting Your Novel to Agents and Publishers

Tutor: Beth Miller
Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Date: A one-day course: Friday 26 July 2024, 11am-5pm
Price: £125

Course details

How can you ensure that your submission to agents/publishers is as good as it can be before you hit the send button? How do you even know who to send your work to in the first place? Come to that, what actually should you send them? This course will cover everything you need to know: from researching agents and publishers and putting together a synopsis and query letter, to handling the inevitable rejections. We will also look at your first page to see if it does the all-important job it needs to do.

You will leave this course with the confidence and practical knowledge to submit the best version of your novel, as well as a good understanding of the current state of play in publishing. You will have the opportunity to get constructive feedback on your query letter, pitch, synopsis and opening page.

This course is suitable for those with a finished or nearly completed manuscript.

Materials to bring

• A laptop and/or notepad and pen
• Your synopsis and query letter, if you have them, and the first page of your novel

Materials included
N/A

Equipment provided
All necessary equipment will be provided for use on the course.

About the tutor

Beth Miller has published eight books with four different publishers. She has worked with hundreds of writers on their submissions, both in her work as a book coach and for The Literary Consultancy. She is a tutor on the Creative Writing MA at West Dean College. She has taught for Arvon, New Writing South and various universities, and is currently a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Brighton University.

General information
Short courses are open to anyone aged 18 and over.
The course fee covers tuition and materials where stated. You will need to bring all other items listed under the ‘Materials to bring’ section.

Refreshments
Coffee and tea are included in the course fee, but you will need to bring lunch with you to eat in the refreshments room. There are plenty of local venues to purchase food locally, if needed, though we recommend that you bring a packed lunch.

Refunds and cancellations
Cancellations are permitted up to 6 weeks before the start of a course and subject to a £35 cancellation fee. Refunds will not be given for cancellations less than 6 weeks before the start of a course.

Students who do not attend due to illness, personal or professional commitments do not have the right to a refund. For this reason, we recommend that students take out personal insurance against any unforeseeable circumstances before the start of their course. It is not possible to transfer to future courses.

We reserve the right to cancel a class in unusual circumstances. We try to avoid this where possible, but sometimes it is unavoidable. In this situation, a full refund will be given. We’re sorry that we cannot be financially responsible for extreme weather conditions, travel disruption or any other situations that are outside our control.

Access
If you have any specific access needs, we will need to know about your access requirements in advance. Please tell us about your needs in confidence by emailing: bookingsoffice@westdean.ac.uk

This venue has steps to the front reception, with limited access via a side gate to the ground floor. There is a small lift to higher floors or stairs.

Safety
Short course students are required to sign a safety compliance form as part of West Dean Health and Safety regulations.

Disclaimer
The information given is accurate at the time of publication. However, West Dean College reserves the right to cancel or amend courses if circumstances require.